


The Stalemate

by Megastressedout584



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Fandom
Genre: After TLJ, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Badass Rey, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, But not quite, Chapter 4 it's on, Character Study, Closure, Dirty Reylo, Emperor Kylo Ren, Empress Rey, F/M, Falling In Love, Fan since TFA, First Time, Forbidden Love, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Ghosts, Gray Jedi, Hand Touching, Hux is Not Nice, Idiots in Love, Jedi Rey, Knights of Ren - Freeform, Kylo Ren Shirtless, Post-Canon, Reylo - Freeform, Short Story, Supreme Leader - Freeform, Training, and proud, borderline explicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-17 10:50:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13075305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megastressedout584/pseuds/Megastressedout584
Summary: Spoilers for The Last Jedi!Facing a stalemate, two enemies become reluctant friends, catching the attention of a perceptive General Leia. Seeing an opportunity to take Luke's advice, Leia decides that all of Ben Solo isn't lost to Kylo Ren. Rey, the only person to ever form such a connection with her son, may be the key to saving the rebellion after all.





	1. Little Scavenger

A/N: This is my first fanfiction on here and I'm actually super excited! I've been a hardcore Reylo fan since TFA! I'm just getting this out of my system after watching the movie, since the next one doesn't come out for another two years :( Well, I hope you enjoy this! First chapter is kind of short. Story probably won't be real long. It is multiple chapters though. Also if I'm off on terminology, don't judge me. 

Rey ran a hand over her cheek. It tickled in a strange way. The feeling was reminiscent of crying.

To her surprise, water coated her hand. Not water. Tears.

She looked around the hanger, hoping no one was paying her any attention. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be absorbed in their work. 

They weren’t her tears.

At times, if she let her concentration get the best of her, such as when she was working on an x-wing, the connection would slip in. She wouldn’t even realize it. She hurriedly went to shut it down, about a year’s worth of practice making it easy. 

_Wait._

She paused on instinct. His deep voice sounded the same as it always had. 

_I can’t talk right now_ , she mentally responded. She closed her eyes quickly, hoping he didn’t see anything. Their connection strengthened with time, allowing her to be able to speak to him mentally. She felt him pull out of her mind reluctantly. The echo of his presence was always there though. It filled her with both dread and comfort.

He could see things through her eyes, if he probed hard enough. They were easily able to project themselves physically as well, but surroundings never came with it. Just him, with his dark clothing and brooding eyes. 

She often felt a deep sense of sorrow looming over him. But never tears. He was much too proud for it. 

She resumed her work on the x-wing, attempting to get the exchange out of her head. It didn’t fare well. 

By the time the sun was setting, her stomach growled. She sighed as she tightened one final screw, sweat beating on her brow. She managed to allow for a quick 360 degree rotation of the ship’s guns. Said ship malfunctioned in the air recently. 

She made her way to the dining hall, giving friendly smiles to the other rebels as she passed.  
Rose and Finn sat together, as usual. They seemed to be having a heated debate about something as she entered. 

She grabbed a good amount of food and plenty of utensils, wanting to show off the table manners Leia recently instilled in her. 

Rey sat down across from the couple, who immediately stopped bickering upon her arrival. 

“How are you?” Rose asked, her hands moving her long bangs aside. Rey plastered the same friendly and reassuring smile across her face, hoping her two close friends wouldn’t see through it. 

“I’m good. Just hungry.” 

She dug in quickly, but still managed to eat with utensils. Her old, lingering fears of starving always stayed in the back of her mind. When she was hungry now, she made sure to take care of the need quickly. 

Finn and Rose seemed to accept her answer and continued on with the debate. They were debating the next course of action for the rebellion. 

“I’m just saying, we can’t stay on Mirrin Prime forever,” Finn continued. 

“And I’m saying we aren’t. The General says it’s just until we are able to replenish our army once more.”

“Every moment that we wait is another moment that they become stronger. I’m saying we should launch a direct attack right on the Ren’s ship with the allies we do have-”

“Yeah, okay Poe,” Rose snorts. 

Rey cracks a smile at the jib about the resistance pilot. 

“I think we should focus on uprisings in the planets they are inhabiting. They are trying to make a New Coruscant in the Colonies. If they want to use a preexisting planet, we just have to make a plan to get the inhabitants to raise arms against them.”

“That is if they don’t wipe them out,” he countered. 

Rey listened in, absently chewing her food and drinking the water in front of her. The politics of the rebellion interested her, but she had faith in Leia. She was the strongest strategist Rey knew. She would follow her lead, no matter the price. 

A few more minutes into the conversation and she was ready to face the challenge that was Ben Solo.

She excused herself easily, claiming that she needed to meditate. As the last Jedi and their most trusted friend, Rose and Finn didn’t question it. 

As she walked to her room, she deepened her breathing and centered herself. She unlocked the door with her fingerprint and stepped into her room, sitting on one of the lounging chairs. Her eyes stared at nothing as she reached for him. He responded quickly and without hesitation.

A projection of him sitting on a chair appeared before her. His clothes were his favorite color-black. She had never seen him in any other shade. His handsome visage, bisected by the scar she once gave him, was filled with anger. She lifted her eyes to the ceiling, wondering what he was going to pout about now. He was like a teenager in a man’s body. 

“You didn’t tell me my mother was alive,” he began, his deep voice seeming to go even lower in tone. 

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You didn’t ask.” 

He threw something near him that was out of her view. Shocking. 

“How was I supposed to ask about something like that. Rey?” he spoke through his teeth. “I saw it in your mind today-“

“You went through my mind?” she shrieked, nearly summoning her blue, double-bladed saber to press against his throat. 

“You forget yourself. Until you surrender to me, we are still enemies. I have every right to go through your mind if the opportunity arises.” 

Now, she did summon her saber. She pressed one end against his neck, knowing he could feel the heat of the blade. His form wasn’t necessarily physical. He only got dull sensations.

“That’s why you were crying today.” It wasn’t in sadness, she realized. It was in relief. She pulled her light saber away from his neck and deactivated it.

He didn’t deny it. “You knew I was having sleepless nights over her and yet you still let me believe I practically killed her.” 

“Well, you almost did. She used the Force to sort of fly back onto the ship,” she admitted. Speaking the truth of the situation aloud made it sound even more outlandish than it already was.

Ben’s eyes narrowed and a disbelieving look appeared on his face.

“You have to be lying. My mother has never shown actual powers in the Force.”

“How else would she had survived? You made it pretty clear who you were targeting that day-”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he interrupted her. “I stopped. I wasn’t the one who took the shot.”

“You might as well have. You stand with people who shot your own mother out of her ship.” 

He sent a hard glare at her for that one. 

“You stand with people who hold you back from your true potential.”

She scoffed. “So you keep saying. If my true potential is to rule the galaxy by your side, I’m going to have to pass. I’m trying to save the galaxy, not ruin it.” 

Truthfully, she didn’t know if he would ruin the galaxy. As Supreme Leader, Ben wasn’t nearly as bad as Snoke had been. Leia’s spies claimed that no weapon of mass destruction have been made so far. So truly, he was already ahead on the goodness scale. No one knew how long that would last.

At this point, Rey saw the resignation in his eyes. This was their never-ending battle. It had been going on for nearly a year now. This stalemate. Rey would not turn dark, nor would he turn light. 

“I’m trying to bring order to the galaxy. It’s my destiny to rule,” he said. His unwavering stare pierced her, daring a challenge. She gave one.

“Ben, I sense the conflict in you.” 

“Don’t. Not tonight.” He sat down once more, the chair appearing again, as his physical body touched it. 

He leaned his head on the back of the chair, looking up at the ceiling. His eyes, always blank of emotion in the presence of others, were etched with worry. He rolled his head forward while stretching, eyeing her up and down.

“How’s my little scavenger doing?” he changed the subject, not feeling like arguing.

“Not your’s. I’m fine,” she offered.

“That’s it? You’re fine? How is your training going?” 

“Well. Building up my strength to defeat you.”

He actually cracked a small smile at that. A rare thing for him. “You’re going to need it.”

The way he confidently spoke sent warmth through her. She reached out to clasp his gloved hand, finding their connection easier to convey when touching. She projected her feelings of loneliness, her frustration with being constantly looked at and caged in, and her fear at the depth of her own power. His eyes, locked on their intertwined hands, flew back to hers.

“I understand,” he spoke soothingly. “I’ve had all these thoughts before too. I still have them.”

She felt him sending waves of comfort through the Force. She felt him lift their hands, kissing the back of her hand. She wished she could feel the entire sensation.

“There’s a reason we have this connection Rey. We are meant to stand together. Meant to balance each other,” he admitted. 

She perked up at this, hoping it would work in her favor. 

Boldly, she sat on his lap and grasped the side of his face. It was an intimate position, but physically they couldn’t feel much of each other. The idea was an arousing one for her though and sure enough, Ben’s eyes nearly clouded over in lust. 

“We do have a connection, Ben. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. When we fought together, it was like we were one person.” She pressed a hand against his chest. “Even our breathing was in sync.”

He pressed his forehead against hers. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before either,” he spoke near her lips, sending a small shiver through her. 

She stared into this bottomless eyes, sensing that she could drown in their darkness. However, what she truly wanted was to become the beacon of light in his dark world. 

“Ben, come to me. We can be together. We will balance each other out. We can start a life together. Just you and I.”

He pulled away immediately. “It will never be just you and I, if I join you. You will always have them,” he spoke with malice. 

She resisted the urge to shake him in her fury. She will never win with him. He was too immersed in the dark side. Power called out to him, instead of love.

She was a fool, damn it, but she did care for him. He became a part of her life. They talked well into the night sometimes, as he was a horrible insomniac. He showed her forms and they dueled on occasion. She even showed him the Jedi texts and he helped her to understand the meaning of the ancient words. Even if he didn’t agree with it and it brought back memories with his uncle, he translated it because he knew it would make her happy. 

He was both damaged and deranged, but he was her’s. She knew on some level, as a dark-sider, he cared for her in his own way too. He wanted to share his power with her. How else did they show affection?

They were so similar, yet different. Two different sides of the same coin. Balance. Light rising to meet the dark. 

The force bond stuck with them, even after Snoke’s death. Neither of them sought to break the bond, for some semblance of hope that the other one would give in. 

She wasn’t asking him to become a Jedi again. She just wanted him to give up his throne. That was kind of a lot to ask. Realizing she was losing a never-ending battle, she sought to end the connection.

“Be good,” she whispered to him, pressing a soft and innocent kiss against his full lips. When she pulled away, she saw wide eyes at the display of affection she bestowed upon him. Their first kiss. 

She stood quickly as he opened his mouth to respond, but she closed the connection.


	2. Proposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey offers Ben a proposition

A/N: Blown away by the support! Thank you so much! Enjoy this chapter, Kylo Ren will be coming next chapter! *Evil laughs and pictures him shirtless*  
Story will probably be around 5 or 6 chapters. I truly don't know yet. Should probably add the tag semi-slow burn too. 

The rest of the night proved to be difficult. She had strange dreams, which wasn’t that unusual for her. This time however, they gave her even more conflict. 

Ben and her were always together in these dreams. Sometimes the dreams were violent, while others were peaceful. The one thing that tied them all together was the fact that Ben was by her side. They didn’t fight each other. They fought together. Damn it all, but it felt right. 

The dreams didn’t tell of which side the two fought on. They were simply together. 

A knock on the door woke her up early this morning. Rey fumbled around for her robe, tightening it around the tunic and loose pants she wore to bed. 

Surprisingly, C-3PO stood in front of her, in all his golden glory. 

“Pardon me, Mistress Rey, but the General would like a word with you in her office at your quickest connivence,” the droid said. 

“No problem. Tell her I’ll be there soon.” Closing the door, Rey leaned against her only barrier to the outside world. She been attempting to tell Leia of the Force connection for quite sometime. However, she never had the words for it. _I’m actually talking to your dark-side son, remember him? He doesn’t seem too bad to me._

She sighed and headed to the fresher to get ready. She always had to be careful to block her mind during these times. If he was randomly somewhere and she suddenly appeared before him naked, she would surely die from the embarrassment. 

She threw up her hair into her customary three buns, grabbed her saberstaff, and left quickly. 

It was early, but rebels were still running around. Leia had been busy forging new alliances with outer rim planets, as well as straightening the ties she once had among the senate. The small amount of people from the New Republic senate who still remained seemed taken with the idea of Rey as the last Jedi. Leia told her that she represented a new hope, something that the galaxy lacked for a great while.

Leia’s office wasn’t far from her room. She knocked timidly and gave a warm smile at the woman who answered. 

Leia embraced her easily, her soft coat brushing against Rey’s check. 

“How are you?” Leia spoke softly, grasping Rey’s hands and leading her to the chairs near her desk. 

It was funny, because everyone always asked her this question. It was a polite formality that never was asked on Jakku, because everyone knew that no one was okay on that wretched planet. She decided to be honest with her. 

“I’m a little lost right now, but I’m doing okay,” she admitted. 

Leia’s head tilted in concern. “It’s okay to be lost for some time. As long as you know that help is always there when you need it.” 

Rey felt her face crumble and it all came out.

“I reach out for help in the wrong place. I have a force connection with Ben,” she admitted, looking down at her leggings to avoid Leia’s disappointment. 

A hand lay on her elbow and through a weak tear on her face, Rey looked up at Leia. She didn’t look surprised. 

“Rey, I know about the connection. For quite some time now.” 

Her eyes widened and she brought up her hand to wipe away the tear of shame. 

“How did you know?” 

“I felt it. His presence on the base. When I feel you near, I am immersed in light. When you open your mind to him, the light becomes dimmed. All I feel is utter balance. That’s how I knew.” 

Rey didn’t even know what to say to that. 

“Also, a little bird may have told me,” she added, a fond smile forming on her lovely face. 

Rey tilted her head in confusion. “A porg?” she offered meekly. 

Leia smiled at that. “Luke told me.” 

Rey had a hard enough time wrapping her mind around the idea of Force ghosts. She couldn’t imagine remaining around, even after death. She often wondered if Luke would one day show up to talk to her. Seems like she had to wait for an audience with her old master. 

“How is he?” 

“Good. More at peace than I’ve seen in years.”

Rey was glad for it. When she met the recluse, peaceful wasn’t the word she would ever use to describe him. 

“How are you okay with this connection? It took me months to even converse with him. I just cursed and yelled at him,” Rey admitted. 

He was mad at her for rejecting him. She claimed he betrayed her for power. It was a never ending cycle until they both agreed to not talk about it anymore. 

“That’s actually why I called you in here. I have a mission for you.”

“A mission? Involving Ben?” Luke’s last words to her echoed in her mind. _This isn’t going to go the way you think it is_.  
“Back on Crait, I told Luke that I thought Ben was gone. He told me that no one is truly gone. Your bond with him proves this.”

“Our bond was put in place by Snoke. He might as well be gone,” Rey spoke bitterly. She remembered the desperate look in his eyes as he asked her to join him and forget the past. 

“Yet it remains. The both of you have not severed it. He feels something for you. You told Luke that you saw him with you. He will turn. When you dueled with him, he wasn’t ready to be turned. I believe in time, he would. That boy was always too stubborn for his own good.”

“He’s had multiple opportunities to turn. He’s turned them all down.” Even killed Han in the process. Killed millions. 

“I want you to sway him to our side. Without proper leadership or incentive, the First Order will not have a face. Others will try to fill the gap that he and Snoke occupied, but they will never fill those shoes. They have a weakness, one we can exploit.”

“All he cares about is power. He will never be swayed to join us.”

“That’s where we went wrong before. Don't you see Rey? We can’t ask him to join the rebellion. All we have to do is persuade him to step down. Stop fighting.” 

Rey thought about all the times she’s asked him to come to her. She insisted he join the rebellion with her. She’s never asked him to just run away with her. The thought of leaving everyone behind was treason. It never even ran through her head. 

He was too proud to join the rebellion. But was he too proud to step down from power?

If her weakness was abandonment, then his was pride. All though, he did have some abandonment issues too. _Wow, they made such a great duo._

“How am I supposed to sway him? Whenever we talk about politics, we end up with lightsabers against our throats.” 

“Go to him. Tell him you’ve changed your mind. Accept him.”

“Out of the blue? He will think it’s some kind of trick.” Which it sort of was.

“I’m sure you will come up with something,” Leia said, a glint in her eyes. 

Rey was frightened to imagine what that glint meant. Leia had to know more than she was letting on and that mortified her. 

“Just focus on him. That’s your mission. We have plenty of trigger-happy people here. We will figure things out. We always do.”

She left Leia a few minutes later, determination in her stride. _She could do this._

On her way to the hall for breakfast, she ran into a certain captain and lieutenant in the hallway. Rey paused at the intimate moment between Poe and Kaydel, debating whether just to turn around to take another path, ignore them, or say hello. They choose for her when Poe looked over at her. 

“Rey! Just the girl I wanted to see. Gold star for the work on the x-wing. BB-8 highly approves,” he shifted slightly away from the girlfriend he’d been kissing. Rey waved at the both of them, approaching them with haste now. 

“I did it just for BB-8. Just to let you know,” she teased him as she continued walking. She sent Kaydel a smile, who returned it. 

“I’ll see you later,” she waved off the happy couple, glad to be away from the sexual tension between the two of them. Her senses within the Force didn’t have to tell her where the kissing was leading. 

Rose and Finn were nowhere to be found in the cafeteria. She ate her breakfast alone and with haste, hoping to get some training in before her inevitable meeting with Ben. 

When the alarms in the compound went off suddenly, everyone sprung into action. 

“Fleet is in the air. I repeat, fleet is in space directly above planet,” a voice came over the speakers. 

_How did they find us?_ Barely anyone left the surface of the planet. They were quite hidden amongst the forest of the planet. This was the first time the alarms went off. For an awful moment, Rey wondered if Ben picked through her brain for the information. If he saw Leia in her head during her distraction, there is no telling what else he saw. 

With a frustrated scowl, she pushed from her seat at the table and took off in a sprint to her room. 

It took her a good minute to arrive back at her room. Everyone was running around and the chaos was not good for maneuvering. She couldn’t focus either. 

She attempted to center herself, even through the alarms blaring around her. 

“Ben!” she said, both aloud and in her head. The bond was open. She felt him wince at her volume. 

_I can’t talk right now_ , he sent to her. 

“I need to talk right now!” she urgently spoke, willing him to appear before her. He did. 

His black cape, lined with red, swayed slightly. He looked regal. His large frame crowded and intimidated her, but she took a step forward anyway. 

“Say what you need to say. I can’t be away from command for long,” he snapped at her. 

“Shut up. I have a proposition for you,” she said. 

His eyes narrowed at her for the disrespect but he gestured for her to continue. 

“I was going to tell you tonight. I want to join you. By your side. I want you to continue my training.” 

He scoffed at her. “Does this proposition have anything to do with the fact that I have many weapons aimed at your precious rebel base?” 

“No. Look into my mind if you must.” 

Ben’s calculated eyes focused as he sifted through her feelings. She made sure to project her resolve over the situation after speaking to Leia today. She didn’t give him the details of their conversation, simply her desire to join him. Learn from him. She didn’t include the fact that she hoped to learn some First Order details and not the ways of the dark side. 

She took a step even closer to him and grabbed a hand. He looked down at her warily. 

“Stop the attack and I will come with you. We can move on from this. Deal with the threat later. I know you don’t want to kill your mother Ben. You don’t want to see me hurt either.”

“You presume too much. As the last Jedi, you are my greatest threat.” He squeezed her hand and she felt his warmth, even through the leather of his gloves. 

She projected the same lost feelings she’d felt her whole life to him. “I’m not ready to be the last Jedi,” she admitted. This wasn’t a lie. 

He dropped her hand and ran it through his hair, a sign of stress on him. 

“Please,” she whispered. 

That did the trick. She knew he was reminded of their time back on Snoke’s ship. He begged her too. 

“I will send you the coordinates in an hour. You will be by my side tonight or I will blow that base off the planet,” he spoke with malice. 

She exhaled the breath she’d been holding. 

“If this is a trick Rey, nothing will be able to save you from me.” 

She cast him a reassuring glance and closed the connection, sinking into the chair near her. 

_She was so dead._

———  
The fleet left as quickly as they came, puzzling everyone. 

A meeting was called, Leia addressing concerns from every division of the rebellion. To no one’s surprise, Poe was the one most upset. 

“I just don’t understand why they left. It was almost as if they decided we weren’t even worth the fight.” 

Leia shook her head. “Something more is going on, but I doubt it’s that. We will figure this out. In the mean time, we need to prepare an evacuation immediately.”

“Perhaps we can talk to the new Supreme Leader? A certain Kylo Ren?” Poe spoke with malice. “There has to be a reason he didn’t take the shot.” 

Leia’s eyes quickly snapped to Rey’s, their brief meeting together informing the General on everything she needed to know. 

“We will attempt contact with him. In the meantime, I want everyone ready to leave in a moment’s notice. Make sure every ship has plenty of fuel. We may have to split up and occupy multiple systems.” 

The debate went on. When Rey felt a probing in her mental shields, she dropped them immediately. 

_Show up with no one else._

He gave her the coordinates. He was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. She couldn’t believe she was going to him once more. Only this time, he was the leader now. 

She went back to her room and contacted Chewie. If anyone could keep a secret, it was him. 

She didn’t have much to pack. A few pairs of pants and shirts. Her staffsaber, forged from the two broken kyber crystals of Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber. A couple of the Jedi texts. She stuck in some toiletries as well, not knowing what he had for her to use. 

She left her room, with only her small bag, to say goodbye to her friends. 

“Where are you going?” Rose and Finn looked at her with curiosity.

“Top secret mission for Leia,” was all she said. She gave both of them fierce hugs, hoping to show her love. Soon, she would be known to the rebellion as the Jedi that joined the wrong side. She wanted to tell them the plan, but feared that they wouldn’t let her go. She had to do this. 

“Be careful please,” Poe said, hugging her as well. Rey could feel his confusion at the “top secret mission” part. She left him in the dark, waving to him and Kaydel as she left for the Falcon. 

Chewie, her favorite co-pilot, grumbled his complaints with the plan the entire way. 

_Ben Solo is gone. Kylo Ren reigns now._  
She didn’t deny it. She looked over at the great ball of fur, laughing when a porg screeched at Chewie when he flung it aside to get to the necessary controls. Chewie loved those damn birds. She thought they were cute too. Almost too cute. 

A few minutes later, she responded to his comment. 

“We never are truly gone Chewie.”


	3. Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and the angsty Ben meet up. There are fights.

A/N: Thanks for the continued support! I didn't know the pronouns for droids, so I made BB-8 a girl. Hope you like this chapter. That's all lol.

Rey was already in the escape pod when they pulled out of light speed. She hit the button to eject, giving Chewie his means of a quick escape. He didn’t disappoint. The Falcon was gone in a flash of light. 

She piloted the escape pod easily through space, eyeing the huge dreadnought and shuttles next to it. His own personal shuttle was near, the huge wings of it spread, gliding elegantly through space. 

She put in the clearance code to get though the security shield and sighed in relief when she made it through. Gently, she flew the shuttle inside the huge ship. 

Ben was nearby. She felt it. She had a layer covering her arms and face, so she felt him approach her through the force and not her eyes. 

She turned to face his direction. He was eyeing her form up and down. She fixed her clothes self-consciously, tucking a stray hair from her buns to lay behind her ear. The same tension that always lay between them was felt immediately by her. 

He had stormtroopers on both sides of him. One even had a cape and instead of the standard white uniform, silver covering him. He was nearly as tall as the formidable Supreme Leader that stood next to him. 

Ben looked the same as usual. Tall and broad, he looked like a leader. His hair was still as long and untamed as always. However, a glint in his eyes that normally wasn’t present now shown through his eyes. 

“Someone take her bag and put it in her room. You may all leave. I’m going to show her around.” 

She didn’t protest being parted from her bag. Her saber called out to her, but she knew she couldn’t ask for it, else blow her cover. She had to seem like she put her entire trust into this man. 

“But sir-,” silver armor began. Rey’s eyes widened at the feminine voice that lay behind such a hulking figure. 

The look he gave her silenced any misgiving the stormtrooper had. Rey shifted awkwardly and gave her bag over. 

“Come. You can take off the hood.”

She did as she was told. He offered her an elbow, which she took easily. Together, they made their way out of the hanger. 

He showed her around the ship, pointing out some rooms where she would be going. He had a training room on this ship, which he claimed the Knights of Ren used as well. 

“There are only two of them on this ship. They use it often, so we can primarily use my personal training room.”  
Rey wanted to curse. Just another two more people to add onto the list of people that wouldn’t let them escape. They would have to be taken care of. If they were force sensitive as well, that would be prove to be a challenge too.

She became even more weirded out thinking about the fact that at some point, most of the Knight of Ren must have been students of Luke. 

The tour went smoothly. When she took note of nearly everyones wardrobe, she made an off hand comment to him. 

“I’m not wearing those hats or the dark colors,” she said. 

He smirked. “Didn’t expect anything else.”

“Keep those expectations low.” 

When they arrived on the main deck, the tour took a turn. 

“Rebel scum! How dare you come aboard this ship-” a red-head man yelled, his face turning red in anger. 

It took her moments to realize that it was not in anger. He was choking. Red-head, which Rey knew from stories was a certain General Hux, clutched his neck, attempting to find air. She glanced at Ben, finding him not even concentrating on what he was doing. Frightened by the easy and intense power he had in the force, she tugged on the arm she was still holding. 

_Stop it_ , she projected to him. 

He did. She was surprised he even listened to her. 

“Everyone treats her with the uttermost respect, is that clear? She’s my guest.” 

She suddenly had a flashback of a similar moment between the two of them. He told her nearly the same thing when he interrogated her, so long ago now. 

“Yes, Supreme Leader,” Hux managed to let out. 

_Oh well._ Just another person on their list to off before escaping. There was no way Hux would let Ben leave. You’d have to be blind to not see the animosity between the two. 

He showed her where his quarters were. Not far from his, her’s were a few doors down. 

He dropped her off at the door. She let go of his arm, suddenly feeling shy. 

“Thanks for showing me around-“ 

She got pushed against the wall in the hall. She wasn’t even surprised. She let out a huff of aggravation at him, since her head hit the wall quite hard. He bent down over her, his scent washing over her.  
“What did you come here for? What do you plan to do, little scavenger?”

She met his eyes. She’d never seen someone with such expressive eyes before. It was probably why he had to wear the mask. 

“I want to become somebody. I can’t be nobody anymore,” she gave him. 

He shifted his position so it wasn’t so threatening, but he was still in her face. Her eyes unwillingly drifted down to his lips. She knew he noticed. 

“You’re not nobody to me. You never were,” he said. 

He closed the gap between them easily, pressing his lips against hers. On instinct, she used one hand to hold his jaw and the other to tangle into his thick mane of hair. 

His lips were surprisingly warm and she opened her mouth slightly in surprise when he lightly bit her bottom lip. He took this as an invitation to deepen the kiss. 

Rey only kissed three boys in her entire life. One was back on Jakku, when she was in her early teens and a young boy wouldn’t stop bothering her until he gave her a kiss. She did, spitting out immediately after, disgusted by his tongue. The second was on the rebel base, with a silly pilot that had too much to drink and grabbed her face one night. Finn may have punched the guy so hard that he passed out immediately after. The last one was Ben. It only happened last night. 

This one was different though. He clearly had experience kissing. His tongue was lightly caressing hers, causing a pleasurable sensation to course through her body. She boldly returned the kiss, shifting closer to him. 

He pulled away suddenly, his eyes wide. 

“You actually like me, don’t you?” he asked, wonder seeping in his tone. 

Rey frowned and punched him in the arm. She didn’t deal with affection very well. 

“Of course I like you.” When Rey realized she left the bond open, getting distracted by his kiss, she hurriedly shut it. 

“It’s not nice to look into someone’s head without their permission,” she spoke warily. 

“When I’m around you, I want the bond open. Do I make myself clear?” 

She wanted to scream at him. No, you aren’t allowed to hear my thoughts. 

“Fine. Then you have to do the same.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Then that’s not fair!” 

“It’s fair because I don’t trust you. You most likely are planning something. I will find out what it is.” 

“Well I don’t trust you! Anyway, why would you let me come here if you were so convinced I have a plan?” 

“Common phrase people say. I’m sure even you heard of it in the wasteland of Jakku. Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer.” 

“Do you keep all your enemies this close?” she gestured to their position.

“No. Just you.” 

“Why don’t we agree that since we don’t trust each other, we will keep the bond closed. No peeking through the other’s head,” she compromised. 

His eyes narrowed on her. “Fine. Set your alarm for seven. You need to eat before we begin training together. I will send in a protocol droid to stay with you.” 

She nodded at their terms. “Deal.” 

He scowled and abruptly turned from her, his cape billowing out behind him. She resisted the urge to laugh at the dramatics. 

———

The protocol droid was a BB unit. She felt like he did that on purpose. 

Her room was furnished nicely, a nice panoramic view of the stars covering one wall. The bed was the largest one she’d ever seen. She flopped on it dramatically when she first laid her eyes on it. Her bag was on the nightstand. She picked it up, looking for her saber. She wasn’t disappointed. 

She unpacked her small amount of clothes in the drawers of the night stand. They fit easily. In the corner, there was a dresser and she curiously opened it. 

There was clothing neatly folded. Some were in light hues and others in dark. She picked one up, not surprised to find it was in her size and looked like something she would wear. 

She folded it up once more and stuffed it back inside. She didn’t want to be clothed by him. That’s where she drew the line. 

She gasped when she opened the closet. It was even worse. There were even dresses! 

_What the kriff is up with the wardrobe!_ She sent him. 

He picked it up. _You wear the same outfit often. Thought I’d help._

_Absolutely psycho._  
The idea that he got her clothes was both horrifying and touching. Why would she need dresses? 

Hell, even he wore practically the same outfit everyday! He wasn’t one to talk. 

He better not parade her around like some side-show. She wouldn’t be manipulated by him. 

She changed into her comfy clothes and lay on the bed. It was a long day and sleep came easily to her. 

She woke to the BB-9 unit beeping at her. She wearily eyed the time it projected and sighed. Her sleep was so peaceful last night that she didn’t want it to end. 

She was served breakfast and asked the BB-9 unit questions while eating. 

“You like working here?”

He responded back that he did. 

“I have a friend back home that’s a BB-8 unit.”

He responded with a long series of beeps. 

Rey awkwardly smiled at the droid’s admission that he knew which unit she was talking about. With two other rebels at the time, one of them the infamous traitor FN-2187. 

“That sounds like her,” she admitted. 

She spent some time in the fresher. She put her hair up in her usual style, knowing it will simply become messy the second she started any forms. 

A series of beeps informed her that her time was over. 

When she raised her hand to knock on his door, the door opened. He wasn’t there behind it.

“You’re late.” He voice came from deeper inside the room. 

“I’m sorry.” She didn’t want to disrespect her new “master” on their first day together. 

She’d never seen him in such casual clothes before. He wore a grey shirt, tight of course, and loose black pants. Surprisingly, he had a wooden saber in his hands.

“It’s fine. Don’t let it happen again. I’m just brushing up on some forms. Haven’t practiced with one of these in a while.” 

He spun the staff gracefully and walked to a glass door, which she presumed was his training room. She wasn’t disappointed. 

It was larger than the main one on the ship. She was currently standing in the training room of one of the most powerful force users of the galaxy. She let that sink in as she looked around. 

“Stretch. Then spar with me.” 

She sat on a mat and began stretching her legs out, leaning to touch her toes. He let her be as he leaned against the wall. 

“No lessons in meditation or lifting rocks?” she asked, breaking the tension between the two of them. 

“Figured you got all that from Skywalker.” 

She shook her head. “I didn’t get much out of him. No offense, but you kind of destroyed his spirit.” 

“He destroyed mine. It’s only fair.” 

“He didn’t destroy you. He made a mistake. Anyway, maybe you should shift some blame on the freaky guy you used to call master.” 

“That freaky guy is the reason I’m here right now.” 

She didn’t argue with him anymore. Most of their arguments went in circles anyway. 

“I won’t teach you the ways of the Sith. I will teach you some dark-side techniques. You could use more disciplined training. Instinct will only help you for so long,” he explained. 

She flashed him a smile. “Instinct has worked in my favor so far, hasn’t it?”

“I think a lot of is raw talent and luck. But we’ll see what we can do.”

When she was done stretching, he gestured to a wooden saber off to the side. 

“Grab it.” 

She summoned it with the force. His lips twitched and she gripped the staff comfortably. This was something she has been fighting with her whole life. 

“Now.” 

They circled one other, testing each other out. She looked for weaknesses in his form, but found none. 

He attacked first. His staff swung to hit her, low by her legs. She countered it easily. 

About ten minutes into the attack and a couple bruises on both sides later, Ben called a truce. 

“You are good with a saber. At first I couldn’t imagine why you would ever make it your lightsaber, but now I see why.”

He summoned said lightsaber into his hand, igniting it. She watched as he admired it, only ever able to see her holding it through their force bond. 

It was blue, shorter than just two lightsabers back to back. Perfectly fitted for her. She eyed him warily until he finally set it down.

They practiced next with something resembling light sabers, but wooden. She found herself struggling this time.

She was faster on her feet due to her small size, but she lacked the power he had over each strike. Each block took so much out of her. She was creative though and managed to get a few hits on him. 

He fought dirty. She knew this fact, seeing him in action before. He suddenly tripped her and she landed on the mat, breathing heavily. It was hard for someone to really challenge her in a duel. She was actually having some fun. 

“You don’t fight honorably,” she said, in between trying to find her breath. 

“If I fought honorably, I would be long gone.” He gave her a hand up after that. What a nice guy. 

They followed this routine for about six days. They ate apart and didn’t speak much to each other. BB-9 kept her company and she didn’t venture far from her room. She was frightened as to what she would find. 

When she reached out to Leia, she felt the familiar tugging of her force signature and sighed in relief. She was alive. The rebellion was probably long gone from Mirrin Prime. 

When BB-9 informed her that Ben wanted to have dinner with her, she slumped her shoulders. It was time to reach out to him. 

She brushed her hair straight and pinned it slightly in the back. She went to the dreaded closet with a sigh, putting on a casual black dress. She refused to wear heels though. She simply wore the shoes she came in. 

The horizontal scar, one which she received fighting the praetorian guard, showed on her right shoulder. She didn’t even care at this point. 

BB-9 whistled in approval at her. She shook her head, not believing she was going to dinner with Ben like this. 

_Sway him._ Leia didn’t say seduce him!

Seducing him might be her only option. Maybe Leia knew this all along. Ben seemed comfortable in his position of power. She knew she had some influence over his actions, enough to stall an attack on the rebellion. However, she needed enough influence over him to possibly get him to leave for her. To follow where she wants to go. Of course, not back to the rebellion, but somewhere else. 

They could go anywhere. Leave everything all behind. Maybe even be normal. 

_He will never be normal. Neither will you._


	4. Strawberries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All aboard the Ben Solo pain train  
> I just wrote some Reylo smut and I'm not even ashamed *shrugs*

A/N: Chapter was written for my own sanity. I can't take how much sexual tension these two have. Other chapters will contain scenes as well, so if you are not comfortable with that kind of thing, you're kind of screwed.

The night didn’t necessarily go as she planned. It went both worse and better than expected. 

She knocked on his door and this time, he answered it personally. 

She was surprised to find that he seemed taken back by her appearance. _Did he think she would show up in a tunic?_

“You look nice,” he offered. 

“You too.” 

He was wearing the same thing as ever, but his hair did look nice tonight. She did have a soft spot for his hair. 

The air smelled good. She went to the table, unsurprised to find her favorite foods there. Of course he remembered she loved strawberries. He was the one who told her she had to try them. When she did, she gave him a very positive review. 

He even pulled out a chair for her. _Kylo Ren, a gentleman?_ He had to be showing her Ben Solo tonight. 

“I know we’ve talked about your favorite foods. Hope I got them right.” 

“You did,” she confirmed. She was already scooping up food on her plate. 

A silence filled the air as she attempted to chew in a lady-like manner. 

Ben filled his plate as well, making her feel a little less awkward. 

“The rebellion is still out there. They are scattered and weak. Not much of threat,” he began, a few minutes into eating. 

Rey filled her mouth to avoid talking. Little did he know that all of the oppressed beings in the galaxy sought to overthrow the First Order.

“I’m going to pass new laws to end slavery in areas where it is being taken advantage of. I also want to organize a new order of individuals on each planet to monitor any laws that are passed. I want my will to be followed through with.”

She actually cracked a smile at his topic of dinner conversation. Most people, Rey imagined, started with a “How was your day?” 

“You smile so much. Why is that?”

That caused an even bigger smile to form on her face. “I’m just a happy person.” 

“Or you don’t take me seriously at all.”

“On the contrary, I take you too seriously. I think you take yourself too seriously also. The sooner you get over that, the sooner you can live with the rest of us.” 

“The rest of us?”

“You know, like everyone else out there?” 

“Are you saying I’m not alive?”

“Trust me, I see you’re alive. I’m just saying that you let life pass you when you brood about everything. I don’t understand why you don’t let old men and women make political decisions for the rest of the galaxy.” 

“Those old men and women get nothing productive done.” 

“Your plan is to rule them by force, then? I’m sure productivity will go up then. Soon you won’t have anyone to rule.”

He stood and actually threw a chair into the nearby wall. It broke into many pieces. She snorted and continued eating, letting him seethe in anger. His temper needed to be dealt with in a healthier way.

“You don’t know anything. You were raised on a black water planet- 

“Don’t say anything about my upbringing!” She had enough of him treating her like an ignorant fool, all because she hailed from a junkyard. She was self-educated! 

“I didn’t need anyone to teach me right from wrong, I just learned it! How can you justify killing innocent people, Ben?”

“I don’t justify that! Any innocent lives taken are for the overall good. To restore order-“

“Kriff order! There is no point in fixing chaos if you have to kill even one innocent person!” 

He moved from his standing position to go through a different door. She assumed it was the fresher. 

She closed her eyes at the tormented emotions she could subtly feel through the bond. 

She kept eating, more out of comfort now than actual hunger. She saved the strawberries for last, savoring them. _How were they so fresh? Did he have them brought just for me?_ The thought made her feel slightly more guilty about being so harsh to him. After a minute, she thought about all his wrongdoings and found she didn’t regret anything. 

She didn’t hear him approach. She stood automatically when she saw him near the table, almost embarrassed that she stayed after his tantrum. What he said next shocked her. 

“I’m sorry for everything.” 

“Everything?” she asked, trying to understand the full extent of this apology. 

“For everything. Taking you from Takodana. Going into your mind. Killing Han Solo. Nearly killing my mother. Hurting your friends. Giving you to Snoke. I did it all in fear of a master that was always in my head, from the time I was a child.”

She didn’t even know where to begin in accepting that apology. 

“Rey, you don’t even understand how hard I’m trying to change. My whole life I was bred to be one way and now that I don’t have to be that person, I don’t even know who I am.” 

She was weak. She couldn’t help but form tears in her eyes. Out of pity, anger, or relief, she will never know. He approached her slowly. 

“Don’t cry,” he mumbled, brushing away two tears with the back of a glove. 

“You don’t even know how much they loved you. You weren’t nobody to them. Not like me,” Rey whispered back. She knew he would know who “they” were. 

“Rey, you could never be nobody. You’re everything.”

She didn’t really know who closed the distance between the two of them, but suddenly he was leaning over her and her hands clutched him closer. 

Their lips met roughly, teeth and tongue clashing at their brute force. He was too tall to keep kissing without a problem, so he simply slid his hands down her waist to hoist her up. She complied. 

His hands moved down to grip her ass as they maneuvered around, gasping as he carried her to what she presumed was his bedroom. She could feel too much and not enough at the same time. 

He tossed her lightly on the bed. She crawled backwards easily. “Gloves,” she said, gesturing to his hands. 

He removed them quickly, following her on the bed. When one hand when near her head to hold herself up and the other tangled amongst hers, she squeezed his hand and opened the bond. 

_Woah_. The lust she already felt, built up over the entire time she known him, was quite a bit. His was so staggering that she had trouble paying attention to anything besides his mouth. 

She wrapped her legs around his large waste to clutch him closer to her. She heard him groan near her ear as he brought his lips down to her neck. 

“More,” she closed her eyes in bliss as he kissed a path to her cleavage. 

He obliged easily. She lifted up her torso as she unzipped the material. He got the hint, pulling her dress down. He even took her shoes with it, moving his hand from her ankle to her calf, then to her thigh. His eyes followed that hand slowly. 

She still wore underwear, but was bare from the waist up. Nearly naked in front of Ben Solo. 

His hand still slid up, brushing against the seam of her underwear, to her clenched stomach, and to the tip of a small breast. The hand finally settled on her cheek, angling her face to him. She had to admit, she was embarrassed. 

_So beautiful_ , he sent her. She pulled him to her mouth once more, trying to distract herself from her own nudity. 

When he ducked his head down to take a nipple in his mouth, she was a goner. 

She soon tugged on his black shirt. He understood her intention. 

His chest, which she had seen before, still took her breath away. She ran her hands over both shoulders, where two different and very bad scars were. It didn’t take away from his beauty, but added to it. 

He undid his pants, managing to get them off with her help. They laughed as he simply stood to remove his shoes, simply watching her. She crossed her arms over her breasts. 

_Don’t hide._

She gestured to his underwear, where a clear arousal formed. 

_Then you can’t._

He tilted his head and pulled them down, revealing the imposing member. 

She didn’t even want to think of the mechanics of him fitting that inside her.

He smiled his rare smile at that one. 

“Can I kiss you?” he asked, climbing over her once more. She was very aware of his lack of clothing and found she loved it. He was running a hand over the top of her underwear, causing her breathing to speed up even more. 

“Why do you even ask? Haven’t you done it before?” 

Ben shook his head. “No Rey. I want to kiss you here.” He ran a finger over her underwear, the sensation intoxicating even through the cloth. 

“Oh. I’m fine with it.” Truthfully, she didn’t know men did that. She figured the whole process was just penetration with a penis. That was all sex was in her mind. 

When the air hit her body, she resisted the urge to cross her legs together. He shifted down, kissing as he went, then paused when he got there. 

_Spread your legs._

She gasped when she felt the first sensation. It was heaven. 

He licked and kissed along the slit and payed attention to the top of her sex until she was practically choking from the pleasure. She tried to not tighten her legs around his head, no matter how much she wanted to. Her body was high by the time he pulled away.

 _That was amazing. We should have been doing this a long time ago._

He chuckled against the breast he laid his head on. She ran her hands through his hair and her breathing slowed down. 

“We can stop if you want. No pressure,” he mumbled. 

She smiled up at ceiling. Ben Solo was actually nice in bed. 

She shifted his face up to her. 

“I don’t want to stop. Keep going.” 

She wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing their centers in contact and eliciting a gasp out of the both of them.

_I’m a virgin, she warned him._

_Me too,_ he admitted to her. She wasn’t surprised at that answer. She couldn’t imagine Snoke letting his apprentice be with a woman. Especially if he read Ben’s every thought all the time. 

_What about birth control?_ he asked. 

_Good question. Got patch not long ago. Should last for a few months._

With their adult-talk out of the way, he pushed inside her slowly. She gasped, feeling his sensations and her’s as well. 

There was pain, which she knew would be the case. He wasn’t a small man. But he was gentle with her, more gentle then she would ever expect. The strange feedback loop of their connection was intoxicating. She could feel his pleasure, see what he was seeing. The way he looked at her was indescribable. Almost like he worshiped her.

 _I do._

She gasped when he thrusted forward, brushing against something that caused her back to arch. 

When he sensed he wasn’t hurting her anymore, he moved gracefully and deeper within her. She moved with him easily, anticipating his movements and bringing them together even more. 

She didn’t want to admit it, but the entire claim about balancing light and dark may have been right. Something about being with him felt completely right. Like she finally found a home. 

She let him hear the thought, even though it was quite personal. He simply ducked down to claim her lips once more. 

He groaned her name when he came, his form shaking slightly from the aftershocks. She held him, her own high reached about a minute before. He shifted to the side to avoid crushing her under his great weight. 

She gave a small smile at him as he tiredly eyed her form. 

“That’s one of my favorite things about you, I think. You smile enough for the both of us,” he told her. 

She cuddled up next to him, running her hand over his chest until he took the hint to grasp it in his own. 

She closed the bond reluctantly and fell asleep next to him. She kept the smile on her face. 

———  
She woke up, surprised to find Ben still asleep. While he slept, she studied the constellation of moles he had scattered on his chest. 

BB-9 came rolling in with a rude awakening. His beeping greatly startled Rey, who was already awake. Ben nearly shot up in surprise, ready to face an attack. 

“Relax, it’s just BB-9,” she said soothingly. 

He visibly relaxed. “Get the hell out!” he told the droid. 

He let out more beeps, rolling away quickly. 

“He’s probably just wondering why I didn’t return from dinner.” 

Ben put his elbow over his eyes, reminding her of a sleepy animal. 

“You okay?” he looked over at her. 

She nodded easily. “I want to take a shower. I think I’m going to go to my room.” 

“Ok. Training can be canceled today. Or how ever long you want it to be.”

She was zipping up her dress when he said that. She looked over in annoyance. 

“I’m not just some girl you keep here as your play-thing. I still want to be trained. I need something to do.” 

He shook his head as if to clear it. “You know I didn’t mean it like that. I know you are fully capable of training. I just want to make it clear that you can do what you want here.” 

She bent down and pressed a light kiss to his stupid mouth. “Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I can’t still kick your ass.” 

“I’m well-aware.” 

She gave him a sly smile on her way out. Something had shifted in the young man before her. Hopefully for the better.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey begins to get even more under Ben's skin

A/N: Enjoy this chapter and Happy Holidays! Probably won't update until December 26. 

They began using their sabers in training. They never meant to hurt each other, but sometimes it happened. 

Ben took it to a whole new level, immediately stopping the fight to actually attempt to force heal. Shockingly, it worked. 

The small burn she got from his lightsaber mended quickly after Ben placed his hand on her arm. He furrowed his brow in concentration and a small light appeared over the wound. It was gone within a few seconds. 

“Teach me that,” she demanded, awe in her voice. She thought force healing was a myth!

“Might take a while,” he said casually. 

It didn’t take her that long. Next time one of them got injured, she took care of it. 

They fought verbally as well. She imagined their arguments were heard all over the ship. 

Today’s argument was about him dropping the name Kylo Ren. She hated it, since it reminded her of the monster in the mask, the slave to Snoke. 

“You claim to let the past die! I thought the person who did Snoke’s bidding was dead!”

“So is Ben Solo!”

“The only way to let the past die is to accept it. Your name is Ben Solo. Be proud of it.”

At his answering snarl, she dragged him down to the bed with her. 

She pushed him down. He let her. Straddling him, she whispered his name as she kissed his facial scar, then his lips. 

“I like the name Ben. It turns me on because it’s your name.” 

That ended that argument. 

They always ate dinner together in his rooms, which became her rooms too. He let her try new foods and she learned new favorites. 

He even got her expensive and sweet wines, letting her laughter flow even easier. 

She always ended up sitting on his lap sometime through the night, sometimes talking aloud or through the bond. 

They talked about silly things, like favorite colors and funny stories. 

Everyday was a new experience with him. Just the other day, she really noticed the size of his ears and now often grabbed them when kissing him. She thought they were cute and he actually blushed. 

He took her aboard his cruiser to new planets. They visited the beautiful Naboo, with it’s waterfalls and wind that blew her hair everywhere. They went to Spira, where he taught her to swim in the ocean without the use of the force. Their last visit was to Coruscant, the old galactic capital of the galaxy. 

Rey was nervous about this trip. Ben took her everywhere upon arriving. He paraded her around with him, her clad in beautiful dresses, photos certainly taken at every angle. The last known Jedi and rebel supporter next to the Supreme Leader? It had to be unheard of. Sensing her discomfort with the attention, he shoed and threatened them. 

Funnily enough, she knew he didn’t like the fame part that much. It seemed like he was in this for the power-trip. He wanted to be respected. 

He was a natural-born leader. At times, it was hard to remember her purpose by his side. _If he was a good ruler, was getting him away from the position actually benefiting the galaxy?_

Leia told her this would happen. She couldn’t let herself be swayed by him. He was charming and to her utter annoyance, she was falling in love with him. 

It slipped that first night on Coruscant. They had dinner on top of a tall building, the view stunning. He even indulged in spinning her gracefully around the dance floor. 

She left the place with him, slightly buzzed and happy, leaning against the wall as he unlocked their door. The guards that were always with him stood outside as they slipped in. When they entered, she immediately slipped out of her sparkly dress and lay on the bed. She opened the bond on her end, probing his shields. 

He was staring out the large window, the shield around it shimmering with the slight wind. 

He seemed lost in thought. An errant thought, one she didn’t mean to pick up, ran through her mind. 

_Can’t trust. It has to be a trap._

She nearly flinched. When she skimmed the surface of his head, she realized he was thinking about her. 

She pulled out immediately, not wanting to invade his privacy anymore. She probably wouldn’t be able to handle what she found in there. 

She lost track of how much time they spent together. They slept in the same room. Both lightsabers within reach. If either one of them wanted to kill the other, it would have been done already. _Yet he was still having these thoughts?_

They weren’t true. She wasn’t trying to hurt him. She wanted him to pull away from politics, but she wasn’t planning an ambush. She didn’t need him to turn light. She needed him to be a neutral party. 

“Ben,” she said softly. She stood up on the low mattress, bringing herself up to his height as he approached her. 

He automatically wrapped his hands around her waist to steady her. Probably thinking she was more buzzed than she let on. 

She surprised the both of them when she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a hug, his face laying in the crook of her neck. 

She kissed the top of his head and stroked his hair. He nuzzled her neck and with a kiss on her collar, pulled away. 

She used her speed to her advantage when she tugged him down and managed to turn his body around with the Force. He actually appeared shocked when she threw herself down on him and pressed her hands on his chest to force him down. 

“Surrender to me,” she said playfully. 

She kissed him roughly and loved his groan in response as she shifted on his lap. 

She was practically naked, his hands cupping her breasts and giving a pinch at her next words. 

“I want to run away. I don’t like cameras. Or people,” she said, the words coming out in a string of moans. 

“You want to run away to your friends,” he nipped a breast this time, causing a small whine to come from her. 

“No. I want to have you all to myself. No rebellion or war. Just you and me.” 

She gasped when he pressed a finger against her entrance, teasing her. 

“It is just you and me right now,” he said. 

She broke from his grasp to sit up on her knees, unbuttoning his pants. He tugged his long- sleeved shirt off and easily threw it on the ground. 

“I will always have to share you. Ben, I can’t be the Supreme leader’s wife-“

She choked on a gasp when he ran his length along her, then grabbed her hips to enter her. 

“You will be my wife one day, Rey. Get used to the idea. Maker, you feel good,” he let out.

“You said you wanted to make me happy. You’d let me do what I want here. What if I want to leave?” 

Before he could answer and get upset, she opened the bond and probed him to do the same. He did. 

She let her stupid love through. She let him know just how much she loved his ears, his scars, his scattered moles, his voice, and the thing that was currently inside her right now. 

But above all, she let him feel her love for him. Even her trust that he would do the right thing, in the end.

With her on top, she moved with him, but he guided her. He stopped moving at her admission, seeming startled. 

_No one’s ever loved me that much._

He continued to move, his eyes clouded over a different way. She kissed him sweetly and he responded eagerly. 

She didn’t need it returned. The way he looked at her when they were sated and breathing heavily told her all she needed to know. 

———  
News of their relationship was everywhere. Back on the main ship, she had BB-9 search for her name. Sure enough, pictures of her were everywhere, from the time she was with Leia and now with Ben. 

She flinched as she read over one article. They called her his girlfriend. She whispered the term aloud, freaked out by it. 

They’ve known each other now for about a year and half. She was with him for around two months now. In these two months, they spent a great deal of time together. She bit her lip nervously, realizing she was dating him. _Strange._

She loved spending time with him, but she longed to be free. Being cooped up in space did funny things to her head. She fared much better in a ship that was constantly moving around. The dreadnought seemed to be made to stay hidden. The shuttles that departed from it were the only thing that ever moved at light speed. 

Ben sensed this tonight and tucked her into his side. She rested her head on his chest and relaxed. 

When his comm went off, the both of them jumped slightly. 

“What?” he snapped. 

Rey heard Hux’s voice on the other line, but couldn’t make out what he said. 

His eyes grew hard and he hung up the phone. “Stay here. Don’t move. Rebel’s bombed a Star Destroyer. Your friend’s doing I assume.” 

Rey looked into her lap. She didn’t say anything. 

He stormed out. She leaned back against the couch she was sitting on, hoping that at least put a small dent in their fleet. 

He didn’t return for hours. She fell asleep in his comfy bed, surrounded by his scent. 

She woke up quickly after probably only a few hours of sleep. Something startled her. A noise? 

She sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes. When she looked at the floor, she saw a light from the night stand fell on the floor. She looked down at the light in confusion. 

She turned on the same light on the opposite side of the bed. 

“Who’s there?” she asked, about to summon her staffsaber nearby. 

A blue-figure was forming in the center of the room. It shimmered unsteadily and was see-through. She gasped when she saw the familiar face, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Luke was in front of her, his customary robes draped on him. He smiled at her, his greeting far more friendly than his last with her. 

“Rey, my child. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

She sat up tentatively, aware that Luke must know where she was. Maybe Leia told him? 

“I know where you are. With Ben. Might I say, you’re doing a great job turning him. I quite believe he hates his job,” he chuckled, as if there was a private joke she did not understand. 

“I thought you would be angry that I was with him. Or like the Jedi master’s definition of angry,” she spoke quickly. 

“It was bound to happen, child. You two are like moths to the flame. I just don’t want you to burn,” he added. 

Rey stared at his form, pleading with her eyes. 

“I need guidance Master Skywalker. I can’t leave here without him, but I need to leave soon. The rebellion will be closing in soon. They’ve already began. My time is almost up,” she admitted. 

Luke levitated the lamp back to its original place. His only words of advice would probably stick with Rey the rest of her life. 

“He’s already turned. He just needs a push. Wait for it. It’s coming.” 

She eyed him warily as he laughed at something, his eyes on something near her. When she turned to look at what was so funny, nothing was there. Turning back, she found he disappeared as quickly as he came. 

She had a hard time falling asleep after that. It was only when Ben finally lay next to her that she could relax. 

She shifted to his side and he automatically wrapped his arm around her front. She fell asleep soothed by his breathing at her back. 

In the morning, she woke to find him watching her. 

“Were you sent here to kill me or turn me?” he whispered. 

They were facing each other, laying on different pillows. 

He knew already. She could see it in his eyes. No point in lying to him. 

“Neither.”

He turned to lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. 

“Then why are you here? To distract me? Mission accomplished.” 

“No. I want to re-extend my offer and change your’s from a year ago.”

He sat up. She did as well. “I’m listening.”

“I want to leave with you. Not rule with you.”

“You’re not accepting my offer then.”

“Ben, you’re offering me the entire galaxy.” 

“I thought most women would love that.”

“I don’t love the entire galaxy. I love you.” 

He sprung up from the bed. She watched as he threw on his clothes and went to the fresher. 

She realized he was going to leave her for the day. 

“Don’t leave now, you idiot! We aren’t done talking-“ 

“I need time. Give it to me,” he responded, slamming the door on the way out. 

He was a child in a man’s body! 

A couple stray tears of frustration welled in her eyes. Now she wanted to throw things! 

Was this the push Luke was talking about? The one that would cause him to turn?

After getting dressed, she walked along the corridor. She needed to stretch her legs out anyway. She had her saber strapped to her leggings, within easy access in case someone decided to mess with her. Of course, she doubted that facing the wrath of Kylo Ren was worth it. 

She definitely was getting too comfortable of her surroundings. She didn’t even sense the person behind the corner, who stunned her with a blaster. _Cheap shot_ , she thought, losing consciousness. 

She woke up sometime later in an interrogation room, strapped to a chair similar to the one she was held in before. She eyed her legs, not surprised to find her lightsaber gone. 

She didn’t panic. The room was different from the one she was in prior. It was lighter and slightly larger. Stormtroopers were no where to be found. Probably to avoid any mind tricks on her part. 

Ben was the first person she thought of. He left her mad today. _Could he had told them to take her? Interrogate her for information?_

That stung. It wasn’t his style though. Not dramatic enough. 

She didn’t have that long to speculate. Hux strolled in confidently with a few stormtroopers, one of them the silver stormtrooper. She glared at him. 

“How can I help you, General Hux?” she asked.


	6. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is in the interrogation room. Will she escape?  
> Yoda reference if you look closely, spot it you must! Hehe

“You will give me all information you have on the rebellion. This isn’t negotiable,” Hux began, pacing before her. 

“Kylo Ren is a fool for not using you. If I were him, I would force the information from you, then teach desert scum their place. Not parade them around like a future empress,” he added coldly. 

“I used him,” she snapped back. The lie was like acid in her mouth, but she knew it would anger him. 

It did the trick. Hux came up to her and slapped her hard across the face. 

She probed the bond, willing Ben to answer. For the first time ever, he didn’t. Her breathing stopped for a second. _Was he going to ignore her because he was mad at her? The one time she really needed him?_

“You’re going to wish you showed me some respect. You will all pay. Don’t worry, I’ll be watching,” he gestured up to a camera on the wall. 

He left with a whirl of his cape. When the silver stormtrooper revealed an IT-O interrogator from a closet, she lost it. 

Her breathing sped up exponentially and adrenaline rushed through her immediately. She screamed and in her panic, actually took down his mental shield. 

_Ben!_

He appeared before her quickly at the panic in her voice. When he saw what she was strapped to, she thought she saw him loose all his sanity. _Shame because he didn’t have much to begin with._

_Hux_ , she sent him. 

_I’m coming_.

A stormtrooper covered her mouth with something. As the torture droid approached her, the force flew around her. She threw the droid into the wall. Repeatedly. 

Rey heard a sigh from the silver trooper. “Comply, girl. This will be easier for you if you do.” 

She thrashed when she was blindfolded. Rey couldn't see what to move with the force anymore. Options were running low. 

_Hurry Ben._

A needle pierced her arm. She attempted to move it with the force, but someone’s firm grip on it ended that. It stayed in there for far too long. 

She clenched her eyes closed, frightened at what she would feel. 

“You’ve been injected with a chemical to decrease your pain threshold. I am giving you the option early to tell us where the rebel bases are.”

 _There were multiple now? How wonderful._

She had her the piece covering her mouth taken off. “I don’t know where they are. I haven’t been there in a while, as you can see.” 

“You’ve must of had contact with them. You and Leia Organa are close.”

“No contact at all.” 

“Looks like we are taking the hard route. You have a few minutes until the injection settles. I hope you are prepared. You will tell me everything you know within the hour.” 

“Whatever you say,” she replied, nonchalant. 

Ben arrived then. Well, more like burst in. 

The heavy metal doors to the room flew open and his saber was ignited. She could see the red though the cloth. His fury also rolled off in waves. 

“Remove the restraints Phasma or you’re dead,” she heard him say. 

This Phasma, who Rey realized was the Captain Phasma that Finn was under, removed the cloth covering her eyes. Rey eyed Ben, her cheek stinging far more now than before. Kriff, it felt like someone had burnt her. The injection had to be taking effect. 

His eyes swept over her as the restraints were removed but Phasma. 

_You okay?_

_Fine. But it was a close call. Hux is watching on the camera._

Ben’s eyes snapped to the camera in the corner. It immediately broke into pieces. 

“Give her the anecdote,” he demanded. 

Now Phasma hesitated. “Lord Ren, General Hux-“

She was promptly force choked. Rey didn’t feel bad about it this time. 

“Now.” 

Ben checked the label of the injection before she received it. When he nodded, Phasma used her other arm to inject it. 

Rey actually had tears in her eyes from it. Even breathing was starting to become somewhat bothersome to her. 

When the injection was done, Phasma reached out again to Ben. Rey ran to his side before she spoke.

“Lord Ren, I beg your forgiveness, sir, but General Hux has ordered you to be a traitor. He has evidence to suggest that you and the girl killed Snoke for the throne. He claims you have turned to the rebellion and your lack of military action against them shows this. I was just following orders. Stormtroopers have orders to shoot on sight.”

She immediately whipped out a blaster. Ben seemed to be expecting it and used his lightsaber to deflect each blast.

 _Behind me._

She hid behind his large frame, relieved to find that her cheek and arms didn’t hurt nearly as bad as they were starting to. 

She watched as he stopped a blast mid-air and threw it back at her. She stumbled at that, the blast hitting her armor. Ben used this to his advantage and shoved her in the wall with the force. She was knocked out cold. Maybe even dead. When blood surrounded the silver armor, Rey had no doubt that she was dead. 

Ben didn’t waste any time. He grabbed her hand, peering into the hallway to see any immediate threat. She gulped at the dead stormtroopers around. There wasn’t any more alive, but she could sense that troopers were approaching. She knew Ben could sense them as well. 

_Grab Phasma’s weapons. Can you fight?_

_Yes._

She did as she was told, grabbing a blaster to hook on her lightsaber loop and a sharp staff that Phasma happened to wield. Thank the maker. 

_We need to get Hux. I’m not leaving till he’s dead. He probably has your staff._

She resisted the urge to gape at him. They were leaving. In that moment, the alarms that lined the walls of the ship went off. They were a security breach. 

Was this the push Luke was talking about?

Too late, she realized that the bond was open. He heard that one. She gave him a tight-lipped smile as he looked over at her. 

_Later,_ was all he said. 

They stayed in the room, using a flipped table as cover. 

“He’s probably heavily guarded, you know, after his imminent declaration as the new Supreme Leader,” she whispered. 

He scoffed. “He’s been after that spot forever. I let him live because his stupidity entertains me. His face is always angry so it works to intimidate everyone.” 

She lightly pushed him. “We got company.” 

“I much preferred only yours,” he said dryly. 

They both flew out of their hiding spot, prepared to fight their way out. 

The stormtroopers came in, blindly shooting. Rey quickly ducked around the blasts, kicking one into the other. 

She felt a pain in her leg, skimmed by a blast. She ignored the blood clearly running down her leg.

 _Ouch_ , he sent. 

She rolled her eyes as she elbowed one and shot another. She had received far worse blows. 

They soon were alone once more. 

_What are we going to do?_

_Surrender_ , he answered casually.

 _What? We can’t._

_I know. I mean we pretend like we are going to surrender, grab your saber, and leave._

_Seems too easy._

_He likes to gloat. I’m sure he will want to see my face when he tells me that he’s the new leader. Probably will try to kill us immediately after._

_He will have an army of stormtroopers around him._

_We can take on anything together_ , he said confidently. 

Ben went to the camera outside and held up his hands in surrender. “We will leave and you can have the throne, Hux,” he claimed. She thought she saw a flash of despair in his eyes, but it went away when his gaze fell on her, standing in the opening of the interrogation room. 

Ben paced in front of her, while she played with the gold necklace he got her not long ago, a purple kyber crystal hanging from the end of it. Since his saber was red and her’s blue, it was a symbol of balance in her mind. He never admitted that was the reason he choose purple. 

It took a few minutes for Hux to show up. He came with the two Knights of Ren from the ship, as well as around eight stormtroopers.  
_Traitors_ , Ben hissed. She sized up the knights before her.

Hux didn’t waste time. “You murdered our Supreme Leader, not the girl. I found a backup copy of the tapes in the throne room. Do you deny it?”

“I do not. It was one of the greatest moments of my life,” he added, out of spite. 

“It is being circulated among the public as we speak. You are a traitor to the First Order. Both of you will be executed for your crimes.”

When stormtroopers began approaching, Ben continued his acting. 

“We will leave here and hide. I will never show my face to the public again. Just let us live.” He was steadily approaching Hux as well.

Hux’s temper came out and Rey had to think about the scrape on her leg to keep from laughing. 

“You have the audacity to ask for mercy after you killed our Supreme Leader? You dare to declare a sand rat as your future empress? I should of-”

He didn’t even finish. In his rant, Rey summoned her saber staff to her hand. It was in his pocket. He probably thought to keep it as some sick trophy after he disposed of the Last Jedi. 

He lurched forward and tripped, the Force of pulling the saber out of his pocket pushing him down. 

Ben didn’t waste time, pulling out his own, concealed in lower arm, to cleanly behead the General. 

Rey resisted the flinch in horror and focused on their opponents. The knights were already charging and the stormtroopers had guns locked on them. 

She used a Force push in her panic, causing most of the stormtroopers to fall against the back wall. Both knights rushed towards Ben, the greater adversary in their minds. She knocked out the remaining stormtroopers who managed to get up. 

She grew annoyed as Ben continued to duel with two powerful force users. They completely ignored her. She would show them. 

Rey went to hit one on the back, finally grabbing one’s attention. She was on the defense at first, protecting herself against powerful blows. They had a short red lightsaber, but they put a lot of weight into the blows. Using this to her own advantage, she quickly spun to kick a knee they planted too long into the ground. The knight stumbled back, while she pressed on, stabbing the knight in the gut. 

She watched sadly as he or she fell. They would never know redemption. 

She thought of Luke and wondered if he would have wanted this. She knew he wouldn’t of. Hate led to the dark side. _Am I a dark-sider now?_

_Never_ , Ben said.

She eyed him, breathing heavily after the fight. 

“How would you know?” she asked aloud.

“No one is truly all good or all bad. You are the closest thing to good I’ve ever seen,” he said. 

She slumped her shoulders. His answer was pretty good. They had a new problem now.

They had quite a few people to get past.

———

They used many mind tricks, but finally were able to get on a shuttle. She grew exhausted from this, letting him pilot for once. 

She sunk in the co-pilot chair and lay her head on the back of the seat.

She must have fallen asleep. She woke on a cot in a dark corner of the ship, a blanket covering her form. Ben must have carried her. 

She sat up, stretching her arms out. She eyed the front of the ship, Ben sitting in the same spot as before. 

_Where to?_

A list of planets ran through her head. They could either hide on a densely populated planet or one with barely anyone at all. 

When she came up with a place, far from any charted planets or life forms, she grinned. 

_Ach-To_.

 _No_.

_It has plenty of resources for the both of us. The old Jedi stocked the planet. It’s only temporary. There’s fuel and fresh water and the caretakers-_

_No._

It took five more minutes to get him to stop saying no. 

———

They were landed on the beach within hours.

She grabbed his hand, walking up the stony path by his side.

_This is insane._

She shrugged at him. She’s done crazier things. 

They trekked up the mountain, her eyes taking in the beautiful green of the landscape. 

The sun was setting, her favorite time of day on the island. It cast a warm sheen on the rocks and her hair glowed dark red. 

_Everything feels perfectly balanced here_ , he admitted. 

_I know. It’s amazing_.

When they came across the caretakers, Rey felt his amusement through the bond. She had to admit, the frog-like creatures were comedic in their dress. 

They recognized her and instantly took her to the main hut, where not even Luke stayed. She was relieved to find that there was an actual bed in this hut, as well as a circle of rocks with wood in the middle, meant to act as a fireplace. She knew from experience that the fresher was outside, an old toilet and fresh-water spray in there as well. 

She looked at Ben for approval. He shrugged, giving it to her. 

_It’s not the worse place to hide out._

She gave him a look at that one. 

“You can’t stop me from getting supplies on the nearest occupied planet,” he remarked casually. 

She nearly forgot that he was used to living in nice conditions. This was an upgrade for her, coming from Jakku. 

“I didn't expect anything different. Come on, I’ll show you around this time.” 

She was shocked to find the Force tree, where the books were once housed, burnt down. When she thought she heard a mad laugh from behind her, the both of them turned, startled. 

“What was that?” she asked. 

“How would I know?” 

She showed him the main temple, eyeing the rock where she first reached out to the Force with Luke. 

_We can meditate together_ , he offered as they left, sensing her sadness. 

She grabbed his chin and pressed her lips against his gently. She pulled away, keeping him close to her. 

“We have to find to hunt the rest of the Knights of Ren. They can become Sith Lords.”

“Individually, we are more powerful than them combined. We can take them down if they stand in our path.” 

“Fine. Then my next task is with the rebellion. I need to let them know I’m safe.”

He huffed in annoyance. “They will never win. You put yourself in danger by aligning with them.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“How do you plan to get into contact with them? I know you don’t know where the base is. I can see it in your head.” 

She frowned. “I’ve heard of a way. I’ve been practicing it in secret too. Maybe one day, I’ll be teaching you things,” she said coyly. 

A flock of porgs landed near them suddenly. She smiled at their cute faces and pointed them out to Ben. 

“Look, you guys even frown the same!” 

He glowered at her. “Very funny.”

She smiled sweetly at him and grabbed his hand once more, leading him back to the hut. 

She made a fire in the pit and grabbed some sheets for the bed from the caretakers. She wondered why they were being so nice to her. She thought they hated how much damage she caused to the island. 

The place felt even more balanced since she last was there. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was Ben and her balancing out the Force. 

When he left to go to the fresher, she softly hummed a song that was often sung on the base. She unpacked her bag, turning to find Ben sitting in the bed, silently watching her. 

“What are we going to do for the rest of our lives?” he said, the weight of his words carrying to her. 

“We will figure it out.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben figure out their lives. Also little epilogue at the end because I love sappy and happy endings.  
> Fun Fact: The kids of Canto Bight all have canon names. I looked it up just for this story!

It didn’t take them long to figure out their lives. 

Rey used a force projection to contact Leia. It took seemingly forever to find Leia’s force signature. She couldn’t hold the connection for very long, but she knew their location and Rey reassured her that everything was fine. Rey told her to not hesitate to contact her if she needed help with anything. 

Leia took her up on that offer about a month into their stay on Ach-To. 

Ben had just returned from a trip to a nearby planet, coming back with food, clothing, even more fuel, and better furniture. She teased him mercilessly about the last aspect, calling him “your majesty”. 

She was practicing her forms on one of the cliffs when he arrived. She saw the ship in the sky from her high vantage point.

 _I have a present for you_ , he sent her. 

_You spoil me_.

She was shocked to find that he got her scraps of metal. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the metal was an old droid. 

“I know you like tinkering with things. Figured you could rebuild it and have a friend.” 

She valued it so much more than a brand new droid. She had a project! 

She cooked a small portion of the food he brought. She cleaned the pot the food cooked over, thinking about the best way to tell him she was going on a mission for his mother. 

_It will only be for a day. I have to help a family escape from the clutches of the First Order. It’s on Chandrila_.

She didn’t know how angry he would get. He had to leave the hut, else risk throwing things, which she outlawed. 

When he didn’t return for an hour, she went to find him, the bond open. He was easy to find, sitting on the short grass, staring at the water below him. 

“You said leave everything behind. Even the rebellion.” 

She sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. 

“If I have the opportunity to save lives, I’m going to take it. Rebellion or no rebellion.” 

When they made love that night, he told her he loved her for the first time. 

———

They went all the way to Naboo to get married. 

He proposed to her one sunset when they were sitting on a hill overlooking the water, revealing a simple band he picked up. She giggled when he grabbed her hand and slipped the ring on her hand, not asking her but telling her. 

_Marry me_. 

Rey Solo. It sounded right. She accepted. 

They were engaged only for a few weeks. He surprised her one day and whisked them off on the shuttle, telling her to look nice. 

She wore a dress, but certainly not a wedding dress.

“My grandparents were married here. Hopefully our marriage will end better,” he joked. She let out a smile at his version of a cosmic joke. 

She found out he payed a hefty sum to the old man that ran a retreat in the Lake Country. The name of it was Varykino. 

The place was nearly abandoned, so it worked in their favor. Said old man was a witness to their union, as well as a couple of teens that were passing by. 

He kissed her softly when the vows were done and she had to swallow the lump of emotion in her throat. 

They didn’t linger there long. They flew back to Ach-To immediately, a thrill in Rey’s stomach at their elopement. 

She sat on his lap the entire way back, enjoying his closeness. 

_We're married._

_Told you you’d be my wife one day_.

She burrowed her face into his shoulder. 

They took a dip in a lake in the middle of the island before the late night made it cool. She was the one who stripped without a care and jumped in. They were the only ones on the island, besides the caretakers. They didn’t come around often either, so Rey wasn’t concerned. 

Ben followed her lead. She swam up to him, splashing water in his face. He lunged for her, throwing her up out of the water and a few feet from him. She shrieked in mock anger and retaliated by sending an actual wave at him. 

They played around for a bit, until she hooked her legs around his waist. 

_It’s a draw_. 

She met his kiss halfway, letting out a noise when she felt him on her stomach, ready.

They didn’t make it to their hut. He took her out of the water to lay her down on the moss and entered her quickly. 

She grasped his back, most likely leaving marks. He didn’t seem bothered. 

The other hand not holding himself up ran down her stomach and rubbed near the sensitive place they were joined, eliciting his name from her lips. 

His movements sped up, her legs coming up higher to wrap around his back. She closed her eyes, his length sinking further into her. 

_Close_.

He brought her to the peak when he twisted his hips a certain way. She was done for, letting out a garbled version of his name. 

His pace became erratic until it stopped, his low gasp telling her all she needed to know. 

_I love you_ , he sent.

 _I love you too_ , she responded, running her hands through his damp hair. 

_We should probably not do this on the ground and out in the open in such a sacred place._

_Good point_. 

———

A rebellion amongst the stormtroopers broke out a few months after that. Rey, accompanied by Ben, was on her eighth mission for Leia. This mission involved rescuing a certain code breaker on Canto Bight. He was taken prisoner by the First Order for his intelligence on their security systems. Leia needed him back for an important mission that most likely would win the war. They had to do it quickly, because they were going to have him transferred soon. 

Ben sneered when he heard where they were going this time. 

“A haven for the rich. They will surely recognize us.” 

“Already looked into it,” RQ said. Rey smiled at the protocol droid, still proud with how well he turned out. 

“A masquerade ball is coming up on the twenty-first. Many of the guards will be at the party instead of the jail,” he continued. 

Ben groaned in annoyance. “Of course there is.” 

Rey thought that he secretly liked the missions. It gave them something to do besides hone their skills. 

However, they avoided seeing Leia face to face. He was uncomfortable with the idea and she didn’t blame him. She thought he was deeply ashamed of his actions against her. Rey didn’t know how to ease his worries. 

They left Ach-To with RQ, parking their cruiser in a garage for an insane amount of money. Ben complained the entire time, while she only smiled. 

Rey wore an old dress she had stuffed in her bag on the way out of his ship. It was her favorite, black and shimmering, falling gracefully over her frame. He wore an actual suit he picked up, along with their masks. She cursed when she walked on the heels, angry to what she was subjected to. _He got to wear comfy shoes and she didn’t?_

She brushed his hair back with her hands, fixing it to appear somewhat tame. She narrowed her eyes at the mask that covered his eyes, reminded of the past. 

_I’m not him anymore_. 

_I know_.

As they descended into the hotel the event was at, Rey took in the opulence of the planet. It was beautiful, but underneath the beauty, she could see the place was maintained by slaves. She passed some on the way, warily eyeing the barefoot children running around the streets. 

_Let it go. Talk to Leia if it really bothers you_ , he told her. 

They only had one jail in the wealthy district, mainly where they kept violent drunks and petty thiefs. Their job was to get the key to get him out. 

They entered the party, immediately receiving alcohol. She carefully sipped the drink, not wanting to smudge her lipstick. 

_There_. 

Rey turned to see what he was talking about. Two security guards stood near the back door. 

Ben whisked her away to dance a few minutes later. She wasn’t very good on heels, but somehow he managed to lead her. 

When his hand creeped down from her lower back to her butt, she hit him playfully. 

_Not funny_. 

He only responded with a gleam in his eyes. 

They sat down at a table, him ordering a drink. A strong one at that. 

When the drink came, he sent her a look. 

_It’s on_. 

When Ben stumbled into the guards a few minutes later, holding the drink and spilling it on them, she used the Force to grab the key card that was in one’s pocket. 

“I’m sorry,” Ben slurred, lurching backward, doing a pretty good job at looking drunk. 

“Sir, we will have to ask you to leave-“

“I’m not leaving!” Ben yelled back, making a scene. 

Rey stifled a smile at his dramatic antics and approached as the concerned wife. 

“Honey, it’s time for us to go-”

“I’m not leaving!” He yelled, drawing even more attention their way. 

The stormtroopers had enough, trying to pull Ben outside. When he wouldn’t comply, she gasped as they zapped him, disabling him for a few moments to cuff him. 

“Sir, you will be taken into custody,” one intoned. 

“He will be okay, right? He’s just had too much to drink. I need to come with you to make sure he’s okay.”

“You need to come with us to make sure he’s okay,” he repeated back to her. The other one didn’t hear, too busy cuffing Ben’s “drunk” self. 

“Lead the way,” she commanded. 

Rey followed them through the small city, surprised that they were going somewhere near the casino. _Interesting_. 

In fact, the city’s jail was in the casino, under the first floor. As they walked in, she noticed barely anyone was there. Ben was still arguing and trying to get away. The one guard was so focused on him that he or she didn’t even notice Rey was there. The other one walked in a trance. 

She followed them all the way to the cells, where they threw Ben in. When the one guard finally noticed her, she had a blaster whipped out, stunning the both of them. 

_Nice job, honey_. He was clearly teasing her about what she called him a few minutes ago. 

She looked at him, leaning against a bar inside. She ran the card in her possession into the lock, opening the door for him. 

_I hate that name. I only used it for acting purposes_. 

She ignited her saber as more guards came around the corner. 

Together, they deflected each blast sent their way. They made their way through the prison.

———

They had the master code-breaker in their clutches. He slowed them down a great deal though. They went through a sewage tunnel, not wanting to appear as if they were breaking someone out.

The tunnel led out to some stables. They emerged from the hole in the ground quickly. Rey looked around quickly for someone, but no one was spotted. 

_We aren’t far from the garage. We must hurry_ , Ben sent her.

Her saber was ignited already, so when she heard a stable door open nearby, she was ready to attack. 

To her surprise, it was a boy. Maybe around eight or nine. His dirty appearance and the fact that he was in the stable led her to the conclusion that he was a slave. He gaped at all three of them. 

“Are you Jedi?” he asked, wonder in his tone. 

She smiled warmly at him and quickly spoke. “Yes. We need to leave though. We’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about this.”

 _He is Force-sensitive_. 

Rey’s eyes snapped to Ben at that, then went to the boy once more. Her eyes went to his hopeful eyes, reminding her of herself at one point. 

“Do you want to come with us?” she asked. 

_Rey, we can’t bring him_. 

_Why not? We can give him to Leia, she will find him a home-_

_It’s too dangerous. He should try to live the most normal life he can_. 

_As a slave Ben?_

“I-I can’t,” he said. “My best friends are here. I can’t leave them.” 

“Where are they?” 

“Arashell, Oniho, come quick!” 

_We need to leave now_. 

_One second._

Two figures appeared, around the same age as the boy. A boy and girl. 

“They can come with us. We will keep you safe. We are with the resistance.” 

Arashell and Oniho, whom both had to be sleeping just moments ago, were wide awake suddenly. 

“If you are coming with us, we need to leave now,” Ben spoke to them urgently, tugging on her arm now. 

Together, three children, a master codebreaker, and a married couple made their way through Canto Bight. They were out of the air with a flash of light. 

———

Chewie picked her and the codebreaker off of Ach-To. She hugged him tightly when he came off the Falcon. She knew Ben was watching in the distance. 

_I heard you married him. Didn’t believe it_ , he said. 

She waved to Ben one last time before departing on the Falcon, three children following her up the ramp. 

“He’s different. Not quite Ben Solo or Kylo Ren. I love him,” she said. 

All three orphans were staring at Chewie in awe. “I think your reputation proceeds you,” she told him. 

When he let out a groan, she laughed while the children kept staring. 

Temiri, the force sensitive one out of the group, called her attention. 

“Rey, what does it take to be a Jedi, like Luke Skywalker and you?”

All the kids listened intently. “A really good heart,” was all she said. 

Leia was currently on Chandrila. She was hidden well, a secret base used among the senate a very long time ago. Chewie led her and the kids all the way to the command center. 

When she caught sight of her, she ran the rest of the way into her arms. 

“Rey, I’ve missed you,” she said, squeezing her tightly. 

When they pulled away from each other, Leia took notice of the children. 

“Who do we have here? New rebels?” 

Temiri put his hand up and Rey noticed a ring there. It had the resistance symbol on it. 

Leia chuckled, delighted. 

———

When she returned to Ach-To, she had two less children. They were going into the care of an old friend of Leia’s temporarily until they could find permanent homes for the both of them. She didn’t need much persuading from Leia to keep a certain child for herself. 

_This is kind of a big commitment Rey. Are you sure?_

Ben wasn’t discouraging her. She knew he just wanted to make sure she knew what she was doing.

 _Absolutely_. 

She arranged Temiri to have his own hut. The caretakers seemed to dote on him, as if they haven’t seen a child in years. _They probably haven’t_.

Ben even picked him up toys. 

When the war was over and if they won, they decided they would move to a different planet. Maybe start a new place for people who want to strengthen their connection to the force. 

They knew they could never replace Luke’s old academy. Ben wanted to make sure that Rey would not be the last Jedi. 

“I’m not the last Jedi,” she told him. “You’re in this with me.” 

**Epilogue**

A few months after that, the war finally ended. The First Order surrendered, lack of proper leadership and a civil war amongst the group splitting them up. A galactic senate was established once more, now once again on Chandrila. Of course, Leia was at the forefront of everything. 

Rey ran her hand over her relatively flat belly, happy that any child she had would be born in a time of peace. It was relieving. 

She was sitting on a rock, watching Ben with their first pupil.

They used wooden practice sabers. Temiri attempted to block a blow, but still received a hit. 

“Too stiff. Let it come near you, then block it.” 

Ben took to teaching very well. It suited him. 

It didn't take that much to convince him to actually have a kid with her. Temiri was practically their son.

———

They ended up moving to Chandrila as well, but the countryside. Hanna City, Ben’s birthplace, was far too crowded for them. 

Rey managed to secure the funds to build a new building there, where anyone could come to learn the ways of the Force, at any age. It wasn’t a temple, but a training center.  
She sought to teach in a way that she knew would make Luke proud. The importance of balance and the fact that even Jedi make mistakes. Kriff, the first thing she taught any pupil was that the Force belongs to the Universe. Not them. They simply manipulated it. 

The place housed children who were strong with the Force, but either were in difficult situations or orphans. Rey even got some of the caretakers from Ach-To to transfer, telling them these were the future Jedi that would one day preserve the island. They took care of the kids, along with many household droids. 

She gave birth to Hana on a quiet morning, her cries the only thing echoing in the room. She came up with name as a way to annoy Ben, but it ended up sticking. She hoped Han was smiling down on them from somewhere. 

Thankfully, Temiri helped them with Hana greatly. They never got anything legalized, but he was their son in every way that counted. 

Just after Hana was born, Rey brought her to Leia. 

Hana’s dark hair, black like Ben’s, shone underneath the light. She had delicate features, reminding everyone who saw her of Rey. 

“She’s beautiful,” Leia whispered. 

“Isn’t she?” It was hard to break a stare from her. 

“May the Force be with you Hana,” Leia said in parting, giving the baby a kiss on the top of her head.

“I think he’s ready for you to come by,” Rey said, nervously shifting. 

Leia moved her gaze from her granddaughter. “I hope so, because I can’t let her go.” 

———

Her old friends stopped by every so often. Rose and Finn got married, which gave Rey so much happiness that she jumped up and down. Poe and Kaydel even stopped by, still dating, congratulating her on the school. Poe had been elected to the new senate, but she knew he still piloted on the side. Ben kept out of sight around her old friends, the both of them finding the interaction too awkward. 

When they left this time, Ben came down from upstairs, a three-year old Hana on his arm. He set her on the ground with her box of toys nearby.

“How did it go?” 

She kissed him lightly. 

“Perfect.”

They were cooking dinner when Ben spoke up.

“Temiri just asked me about my scar.” 

“He’s done that before, hasn’t he?” 

“I’m going to tell him the truth. He’s old enough. I was told about my grandfather when I was too old.” 

“If you tell him I gave you that, do you think he’d start listening to me more?” 

She felt his exasperation with her at that one. 

“Hana, you need to always listen to your mother. She’s always right,” he told her. Hana looked up from her place on the rug, confused. 

“Ben, I’m not always right. Just most of the time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: That's the end! Hope I made it to your liking. Thanks so much for reading and supporting! I may end up writing more stories on here. Everyone is super supportive.


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